How do i stop my turtles' tank from smelling?

Question

I have two RES turtles. they live in a 10 gallon aquarium, and eat mainly ReptoMin. (From time to time I give them fresh snails, dried shrimp or krill, anacharis, greens, or rosy reds). I have a ZooMed brand filter, recommended especially for turtle tanks; it's 4W and 120 volts. this is the fourth filter I've tried and nothing seems to work.

For some reason, about 3 days after I change their water, it starts to smell and gets progressively worse until I change it.

What can I do to get rid of the odor? It stinks up my house and I'd hate to have to get rid of my babies...

Over the weekend, I bought a 30 gal tank. I wasn't being neglectful, by the way. I've had my turtles since they were days old, so they outgrew into the 10 gallon.

Thanks to all of you for your great insight! I'm definitely going to start feeding them outside the tank; and I bought a 60 gal filter, so hopefully that'll help, too.

Answer 1

1.) a ten gallon tank is too small for two turtles

2.) a bigger tank is easier to maintain and you have to change the
water less often

3.) feed the turtles in another tank, they might not be eating all of
the food and it may be rotting in the tank and dirtying the water

Answer 2

1. Tank is WAY to small. 2 RES should be in at least a 20 gallon tank. More water means it takes longer to get dirty. (Turtles DO NOT 'grow to match the size of the cage'- turtles that stay small are not being kept right.)

2. Filters are too small. You need at least 2-3 times the filtration that a same-size fish tank would take. The ZooMeds are nice filters, but not the best. Try this article for more ideas: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/waterquality.htm Even with great filtration you need to change some of the water weekly.

3. You might be over-feeding. A serving of food is the size of the turtle's head, and uneaten food should be removed after about 15-60 minutes.

4. Some keepers feed the turtles in a separate, easy to clean 'feeding tank', such as a large plastic tub.

Answer 3

There's not much you can do.

That's a bit of a small enclosure to keep a turtle in. You should probably step up your maintenance schedule. Do not keep the turtle in a cold room or outside. Don't spray any household chemicals, cleaners, or air fresheners, either.

Answer 4

As simply as can be put, in a ten gallon aquarium, you don't get rid of the smell. Turtles inherently are tough on water quality. You are going to need to get a MUCH larger aquarium or do daily water changes. Those turtles will grow to require A LOT of space.

Depending on the size of the turtles, you may want to look into a 55 gallon or larger. That way you have more water and better natural filtration. What you are smelling is ammonia build up, in a ten gallon set up you are just going to have to get used to it, turtles like anything else defacate regularly and will make an aquarium get a pugnate odor really quickly.

Answer 5

Unfortunately, it's a drawback of keeping water turtles. You may have to change the water even more frequently than you already do. Always remember to remove any uneaten food within a short time as that will contribute to the smell. Ideally, try putting the turtles in the bathtub with an inch or so of water for feeding, and this will also keep the water clear. I have raised and bred box turtles and tortoises (land turtles) for more than 18 yrs. and they are clean and odor free as there is no standing water to contend with. I keep my turtles and tortoises outside in the summer in an open enclosure with a small pool. It's ideal, as they get plenty of natural sunshine, rain, etc. This is also where they lay their eggs. When I was a youngster, I kept red-eared sliders as well, and did the same thing. Kept them indoors in the winter time, and summered them outdoors. You will find that some garden supply centers carry smallish plastic liners for fountains, and this would make an ideal outdoor pool (sink it into the ground). That way you'll enjoy watching your turtles in a natural environment and your turtles will be extremely happy and healthy, but the bonus will be odor-free house!

Answer 6

Some good answer above i will highlight what i consider the important things for getting rid of the smell.

Space- Res need 10 gallons of tank space for every 1 inch of shell. Two 4 inch res need 80 gallons.

Filter- Needs to be rated for 2-3 times the size of the tank. A 10 gallon tank needs a filter that does 20-30 gallons.

Filter- get one with both a carbon media (gets rid of stinky amonia) and a bio wheel/media (and leave it alone, bio filters can take 2 weeks too build up the right kind of bacteria to eat the turtle waste. if you keep cleaning/messing with it, you are killing off the helpfull bacteria, if it gets full of waste, take a cup of the aquarium water and swish it in the cup)

Feeding- The most important i think. get a simple tupperware contrainer and feed your turtles outside of it, they will need some water in their, I ussualy just scoop a cup or two out from the tank and add a cup or two of distilled water. Feeding outside the tank eliminates a LOT of mess.

Answer 7

I have RES turtles too. The same thing happened to me but i realized that i was giving them too much food. They wouldnt eat it all and it would just sink to the bottom of the tank and start to smell. Maybe that is your problem. And by the way you dont need a larger tank because RES turtles grow as big as their tanks. Mine have the same size tank as yours.

Answer 8

I raised many turtles ....the only thing that helped me was vinegar and water to clean their tanks .....turtles do take time and alot of work ...like you i loved them too ! Also a pump/ filter helped it keep cleaner!!

Good luck

Answer 9

Every living thing has an odor. Having kept snakes, birds, turtles, lizards, cats, horses, rats, mice and dogs, I feel qualified to answer. It certainly sounds like you keep their environment clean, which is great, but you must expect to have an odor, it's only natural.

Answer 10

I'm not sure what to do to get rid of the odor source, but I do have a great idea for eliminating the odors that are there . I have the perfect solution that I've used for years with Hermit crabs (and they smell) . It is a product called FRIDGE IT odor absorbers. It is a little purple cube with an incredible activated carbon filter inside that is really, really, great. It works so much better than other absorbers. The carbon literally absorbs and eliminates the odors and works for a long time. Just hang a couple of them onto the edge of the tank. I use this product everywhere including car, storage, closets, my fridge and also under sinks, near trash and have friends that use it on cat litter box and also diaper pails - it's that good. I really recommend it. You can buy it in kitchen gadget sections in stores like walmart and linens and things. I also think camping world sells it. Definitely worth trying.